The Economics of Agricultural R&D

Agricultural research has transformed agriculture and in doing so contributed to the transformation of economies. Economic issues arise because agricultural research is subject to various market failures, because the resulting innovations and technological changes have important economic consequences for net income and its distribution, and because the consequences are difficult to discern and attribute. Economists have developed models and measures of the economic consequences of agricultural R&D and related policies in contributions that relate to a very broad literature ranging across production economics, development economics, industrial organization, economic history, welfare economics, political economy, econometrics, and so on. A key general finding is that the social rate of return to investments in agricultural R&D has been generally high. Specific findings differ depending on methods and modeling assumptions, particularly assumptions concerning the research lag distribution, the nature of the research-induced technological change, and the nature of the markets for the affected commodities

Differential Diagnosis

The antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is a systemic, acquired, immune-mediated systemic disease characterized by episodes of thrombosis (venous, arterial, or of the microcirculation) and/or pregnancy morbidities, associated with the persistent presence of circulating autoantibodies directed to molecular complexes consisting of phospholipids and proteins (confirmed at least in two occasions 12 weeks apart). APS should always be considered as a potential diagnosis for young patients presenting with a history of thrombotic events, especially when they occur without any obvious external trigger or any inherited thrombophilic mutation (even if 2006 criteria do not exclude APS patients with other inherited or acquired pro-thrombotic conditions) or for women with recurrent pregnancy losses or later fetal deaths. Many other disorders are able to mimic APS, so a broad range of alternative diagnoses should be investigated and ruled out during clinical workup